What the legislation says
35 (1) Depositing waste consisting of excavated material from a borehole or other excavation made for the purpose of mineral exploration if:
(a) it is deposited in or on land at the place where it is to excavated;
(b) the total quantity of waste so deposited over any period of 24 months does not exceed 45,000 cubic metres per hectare; and
(c) the drilling of the borehole or the making of any other excavation is development for which planning permission has been granted by Article 3 of, and Class A or B of Part 22 of Schedule 2 to, the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (a) and the conditions subject to which the development is permitted are observed. (b) the conditions subject to which the development is permitted are observed.
35 (2) Expression used in this paragraph which are also used in the Town and Country Planning (General Development) Order 1995 have the same meaning as in that order.
What this means
Paragraph 35 (1) (a - c) allows 45,000 cubic metres per hectare of waste from the excavation of boreholes for coal and mineral prospecting, to be deposited over any period of two years at the place where it was produced.
The exemption is however limited to excavations within certain classes of development, which are being undertaken in accordance with the development orders.
Paragraph 35 (2) aligns the terms used in this exemption with those in the associated General Development Orders.
Questions and answers
We have provided the following questions and answers to help you further understand if this exemption covers the type of activity that you wish to undertake.
Paragraph 35 (1) (2)
Q. What can you do?
A. Over a two year period, you can deposit 45,000 cubic metres per hectare of excavation wastes from boreholes and mineral and coal prospecting.
Q. Who can do it?
A. Any organisation who registers a Paragraph 35 exemption with us and has planning permission to:
- drill boreholes
- carry out seismic surveys, and
- make any other excavations for the purpose of mineral exploration.
Q. Where can the waste be deposited?
A. At the place or places you identify when you register the exemption which must also be the land where the waste was produced.
Examples of activities that are not suitable for registration under a Paragraph 35 exemption:
- A company wishes to deposit the extraction waste from the drilling of oil exploratory boreholes.
The Paragraph 35 exemption does not cover petroleum exploration activities.
- A company undertaking mineral exploration intends to donate the excavated material to a local farmer who wishes to spread the waste on his fields to improve the land.
The spreading of excavation waste at a location other than where it was produced is not covered by the Paragraph 35 exemption. The spreading of the waste may, in some circumstances, be possible under Paragraph 7 or 9 exemptions.
Example of an activity that is suitable for registration under a Paragraph 35 exemption:
- A mineral exploration company wishes to deposit no more that 45,000 cubic metres per hectare of waste that was generated from drilling activities, on the land where it was produced. The drilling has appropriate planning authorisation.
The deposit of the excavation waste should be registered as a Paragraph 35 exemption.
